Ivannia Soto – författare

Your guide to culturally and linguistically sustaining practices in your dual language classroom and school.

It’s time to set the record straight: Multilingualism is a tremendous asset that must be nurtured and valued and the most effective pathway to multilingualism is dual language education. Despite significant evidence attesting to the cognitive, social/emotional, and economic benefits of multilingualism, the majority of our classrooms and schools are monolingual.

Encouragingly, recent shifts in state policies have increased the demand for dual language programming in our schools. This increased momentum brings new challenges, including the need for more bilingually authorized teachers, high-quality instructional resources, and accurate assessment and accountability in the target languages of instruction. With contributions from ten experts in multilingual education, Breaking Down the Monolingual Wall outlines the systemic and pedagogical approaches necessary for successful multilingual and dual language programs. The book supports educators to: 

Shift the paradigm from one that is subtractive and deficit-based to one that is additive and assets-basedEmbed culturally and linguistically sustaining practices in their instructionUnderstand how to promote multilingualism in the context of teaching academic contentDevelop assessments as, for, and of learning in multiple languages.Lead high-quality dual language schools and programsRecruit and retain highly qualified bilingual educators

Offering a comprehensive overview of bilingual policies and historical context all educators should understand, Breaking Down the Monolingual Wall is an invaluable guide to creating dual language learning environments that build on the precious assets of our multilingual students and families.

"The book makes a contribution to the education of English language learners. It provides practical instructional suggestions for teachers of both ELLs and SELs that are informed by a deep understanding of theories of second language and second dialect acquisition and the development of reading and writing proficiencies."—Guadalupe Valdés, Professor of EducationStanford University

"The concepts of gaps and bridges are clearly articulated up front and provide a well-structured theme that unites the various parts of the text. The use of this structure provides a logical and coherent mechanism for providing a complete picture of the problem—the literacy gap between ELs and native speakers—and a means for addressing this problem."—Kristina Anstrom, Senior Research ScientistThe George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education

Build bridges of support so English language learners can learn alongside their peers!English language learners (ELLs) and standard English learners (SELs) face multiple gaps as they strive to achieve, so educators need to take a holistic, comprehensive approach to bridge those gaps and meet the needs of ELLs and SELs in the classroom.

Based on an original, well-researched framework, this much-needed resource provides practical strategies for supporting learning and success for ELLs. The authors provide strategies, examples, and classroom tools to address:

The gap between students and texts: covering word recognition, background knowledge, comprehension, and academic language developmentThe gap between students and teachers: including socio-cultural differences between teachers and students, and teacher perceptions and expectationsThe gap between students and their peers: discussing language proficiency differences, grouping strategies, and grade-level and schoolwide programs

The Literacy Gaps helps educators give ELLs the skills they need to close the most important gap of all: the achievement gap.

"The book makes a contribution to the education of English language learners. It provides practical instructional suggestions for teachers of both ELLs and SELs that are informed by a deep understanding of theories of second language and second dialect acquisition and the development of reading and writing proficiencies."—Guadalupe Valdés, Professor of EducationStanford University

"The concepts of gaps and bridges are clearly articulated up front and provide a well-structured theme that unites the various parts of the text. The use of this structure provides a logical and coherent mechanism for providing a complete picture of the problem—the literacy gap between ELs and native speakers—and a means for addressing this problem."—Kristina Anstrom, Senior Research ScientistThe George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education

Build bridges of support so English language learners can learn alongside their peers!English language learners (ELLs) and standard English learners (SELs) face multiple gaps as they strive to achieve, so educators need to take a holistic, comprehensive approach to bridge those gaps and meet the needs of ELLs and SELs in the classroom.

Based on an original, well-researched framework, this much-needed resource provides practical strategies for supporting learning and success for ELLs. The authors provide strategies, examples, and classroom tools to address:

The gap between students and texts: covering word recognition, background knowledge, comprehension, and academic language developmentThe gap between students and teachers: including socio-cultural differences between teachers and students, and teacher perceptions and expectationsThe gap between students and their peers: discussing language proficiency differences, grouping strategies, and grade-level and schoolwide programs

The Literacy Gaps helps educators give ELLs the skills they need to close the most important gap of all: the achievement gap.

Mastering spoken language is the key to writing success for English language learners English language learners struggle to meet the increased classroom writing demands of the Common Core State Standards, and many schools seem at a loss for solutions.   In these pages, ELL expert Ivannia Soto builds on the groundbreaking research she presented in her previous book ELL Shadowing as a Catalyst for Change to show how oral language development scaffolds writing skills.  To implement this knowledge, Soto offers educators a powerful set of tools:  • Exciting spoken techniques such as Socratic Seminar, Frayer model and Think-Pair-Share that build vocabulary and                 extend into academic writing    • Approaches to teaching three essential styles of writing: argumentative, procedural, and narrative • Sample lesson plans and graphic organizer templates   ELLs must develop oral language skills before meeting the Common Core’s writing requirements. This book provides the tools to make this happen.   "This timely book collects oral language strategies designed to scaffold academic writing for English language learners at intermediate and advanced levels of English proficiency. Concrete examples support the goal of teaching college and career ready standards across content areas." —Charlene Rivera, Research Professor The George Washington University Center for Equity and Excellence in Education

By now it’s a given: if we’re to help our ELLs and SELs access the rigorous demands of today’s content standards, we must cultivate the “code” that drives school success: academic language. Look no further for assistance than this much-anticipated series from Ivannia Soto, in which she invites field authorities Jeff Zwiers, David and Yvonne Freeman, Margarita Calderon, and Noma LeMoine to share every teacher’s need-to-know strategies on the four essential components of academic language. The subject of this volume is culture. Here, Noma LeMoine makes clear once and for all how culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy validates, facilitates, liberates, and empowers ethnically diverse students. With this volume as your roadmap, you’ll learn how to:

Implement instructional strategies designed to meet the  linguistic and cultural needs of ELLs and  SELs Use language variation as an asset in the classroom Recognize and honor prior knowledge, home languages, and cultures

The culture and language every student brings to the classroom have vast implications for how to best structure the learning environment. This guidebook will help you get started as early as tomorrow. Better yet, read all four volumes in the series as an all-in-one instructional plan for closing the achievement gap.

By now it’s a given: if we’re to help our ELLs and SELs access the rigorous demands of today’s content standards, we must cultivate the “code” that drives school success: academic language. Look no further for assistance than this much-anticipated series from Ivannia Soto, in which she invites field authorities Jeff Zwiers, David and Yvonne Freeman, Margarita Calderon, and Noma LeMoine to share every teacher’s need-to-know strategies on the four essential components of academic language.

The subject of this volume is conversational discourse. Here, Jeff Zwiers reveals the power of academic conversation in helping students develop language, clarify concepts, comprehend complex texts, and fortify thinking and relational skills. With this book as your roadmap, you’ll learn how to:

Foster the skills and language students must develop for productive interactions Implement strategies for scaffolding paired conversations Assess student’s oral language development as you go

It’s imperative that our ELLs and SELs practice academic language in rich conversations with others in school, especially when our classrooms may be their only opportunities to receive modeling, scaffolding, and feedback focused on effective discourse. This book, in concert with the other three volumes in the series, can provide both a foundation and a framework for accelerating the learning of diverse students across grade levels and disciplines.

By now it’s a given: if we’re to help our ELLs and SELs access the rigorous demands of today’s content standards, we must cultivate the “code” that drives school success: academic language. Look no further for assistance than this much-anticipated series from Ivannia Soto, in which she invites field authorities Jeff Zwiers, David and Yvonne Freeman, Margarita Calderon, and Noma LeMoine to share every teacher’s need-to-know strategies on the four essential components of academic language.

The subject of this volume is vocabulary. Here, Margarita Calderon reveals how vocabulary is best taught as a tool for completing and constructing more complex messages. With this book as your roadmap, you’ll learn how to:

Teach high-frequency academic words and discipline-specific vocabulary across content areas Utilize strategies for teaching academic vocabulary, moving students from Tier 1 to Tiers 2 and 3 words and selecting appropriate words to teach Assess vocabulary growth as you go

Our vocabulary instruction must come from the texts our ELLs and SELs are about to read, not from a set of activities that teach words in isolation. This guidebook will help you get started as early as tomorrow. Better yet, read all four volumes in the series and put in place an all-in-one instructional plan for closing the achievement gap.